New Marston Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 4 March 2025

Pupils are thriving at this happy, welcoming school. They are full of enthusiasm for learning and behave exceptionally well. Pupils are immensely proud to belong to such a diverse school community where everyone is valued for their own unique qualities. Parents and carers cannot praise the school enough. One parent, typical of many, commented, 'The school is a fantastic, inclusive school which my children love. The wide diversity of languages and cultures is incredible and celebrated.' The school's ambition for every pupil to 'aim higher, reach further and shine brighter' is lived out in daily life. High aspirations for every pupil permeate this school. As a result, pupils achieve well, academically and personally. They leave the school as well-rounded individuals, confident and ready to embrace the challenges ahead of them. Pupils benefit from extensive enrichment opportunities, including the school's 'electives' programme. This broadens pupils' horizons and generates many new interests and potential hobbies. Pupils enjoy trying out activities such as cheerleading and rock climbing. They also value that they have a 'voice' in what is on offer. Pupils' social development is enhanced considerably through the numerous outdoor lunchtime activities. These range from den building and imaginary play to sporting activities.

What the school should improve

• The early writing curriculum has not given enough priority to letter formation and sentence construction. This means that some pupils have not secured this important foundational knowledge well enough. Weaknesses in these aspects of pupils' knowledge and skills hamper the quality of their writing, particularly in early years and key stage 1. The school needs to fully embed its new writing strategy and ensure that this is having the impact that it intends.
• In some foundation subjects, learning activities do not focus precisely enough on the most important knowledge pupils need to learn and remember. Additionally, some activities do not deepen pupils' learning well enough. This means that pupils do not build their knowledge as well as they could, and, at times, learning is superficial. The school needs to ensure that staff are supported to implement the curriculum consistently well in all foundation subjects.

Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)